Mass customization of antenna assemblies using metal additive manufacturing

ABSTRACT

A method, system, and device provides components of an antenna assembly. Digital information representative of one or more characteristics of an antenna element of antenna assembly may be received by a processor. The processor may further receive a specification for the antenna element. The processor may adjust digital information representative of the antenna element to adjust the physical parameters of the component to meet the specification. The antenna assembly may be fabricated with the adjusted physical parameters.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/290,787, filed Mar. 1, 2019, entitled “MASS CUSTOMIZATION OFANTENNA ASSEMBLIES USING METAL ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING,” which claims thebenefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 62/637,948 filed Mar. 2, 2018, entitled “MASS CUSTOMIZATION OFANTENNA ASSEMBLIES USING METAL ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING,” which areincorporated herein by reference in their entirety, including but notlimited to those portions that specifically appear hereinafter, theincorporation by reference being made with the following exception: Inthe event that any portion of the above-referenced applications areinconsistent with this application, this application supersedes saidabove-referenced applications.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosure relates generally to systems, methods, and devicesrelated to an antenna and its construction. An antenna assembly may beimplemented using specific antenna elements assembled or formed togetherwith one or more physical parameters to provide one or morecharacteristics or electrical characteristics.

BACKGROUND

Antennas are ubiquitous in modern society and are becoming anincreasingly important technology as smart devices multiply and wirelessconnectivity moves into exponentially more devices and platforms. Anantenna structure designed for transmitting and receiving signalswirelessly between two points can be as simple as tuning a length of awire to a known wavelength of a desired signal frequency. At aparticular wavelength (which is inversely proportional to the frequencyby the speed of light λ=c/f) for a particular length of wire, the wirewill resonate in response to being exposed to the transmitted signal ina predictable manner that makes it possible to “read” or reconstruct areceived signal. For simple devices, like radio and television, a wireantenna serves well enough.

Passive antenna structures are used in a variety of differentapplications. Communications is the most well-known application, andapplies to areas such as radios, televisions, and internet. Radar isanother common application for antennas, where the antenna, which canhave a nearly equivalent passive radiating structure to a communicationsantenna, is used for sensing and detection. Common industries whereradar antennas are employed include weather sensing, airport trafficcontrol, naval vessel detection, and low earth orbit imaging. A widevariety of high performance applications exist for antennas that areless known outside the industry, such as electronic warfare and ISR(information, surveillance, and reconnaissance) to name a couple.

High performance antennas are required when high data rate, long range,or high signal to noise ratios are required for a particularapplication. In order to improve the performance of an antenna to meet aset of system requirements, for example on a satellite communications(SATCOM) antenna, it is desirable to reduce the sources of loss andincrease the amount of energy that is directed in a specific area awayfrom the antenna (referred to as ‘gain’). In the most challengingapplications, high performance must be accomplished while also survivingdemanding environmental, shock, and vibration requirements. Losses in anantenna structure can be due to a variety of sources: materialproperties (losses in dielectrics, conductivity in metals), total pathlength a signal must travel in the passive structure (total loss is lossper length multiplied by the total length), multi-piece fabrication,antenna geometry, and others. These are all related to specific designand fabrication choices that an antenna designer must make whenbalancing size, weight, power, and cost performance metrics (SWaP-C).Gain of an antenna structure is a function of the area of the antennaand the frequency of operation. The only way to create a high gainantenna is to increase the total area with respect to the number ofwavelengths, and poor choice of materials or fabrication method canrapidly reduce the achieved gain of the antenna by increasing the lossesin the passive feed and radiating portions.

One of the lowest loss and highest performance RF structures is hollowmetal waveguide. This is a structure that has a cross section ofdielectric, air, or vacuum which is enclosed on the edges of the crosssection by a conductive material, typically a metal like copper oraluminum. Typical cross sections for hollow metal waveguide includerectangles, squares, and circles, which have been selected due to theease of analysis and fabrication in the 19^(th) and 20^(th) centuries.Air-filled hollow metal waveguide antennas and RF structures are used inthe most demanding applications, such as reflector antenna feeds andantenna arrays. Reflector feeds and antenna arrays have the benefit ofproviding a very large antenna with respect to wavelength, and thus ahigh gain performance with low losses.

Traditional fabrication methods for array antennas using hollow metalwaveguide have either been limited in size or cost, due to thecomplexity of fabricating all of the intricate features necessary forhigh performance in the small footprint required by physics. Furthercomplicating the fabrication are system requirements for thermaldissipation for higher power handling, high strength to survive theshock and vibration of launch, addition of mechanical mountinginterfaces, and close proximity to additional electronics boxescontaining circuit card assemblies (CCAs) that perform various requiredactive functions for the antenna (such as tracking, data, command, andcontrol).

Every physical component is designed with the limitations of thefabrication method used to create the component. Antennas and RFcomponents are particularly sensitive to fabrication method, as themajority of the critical features are inside the part, and very smallchanges in the geometry can lead to significant changes in antennaperformance. Due to the limitations of traditional fabricationprocesses, hollow metal waveguide antennas and RF components have beendesigned so that they can be assembled as multi-piece assemblies, with avariety of flanges, interfaces, and seams. All of these joints where thestructure is assembled together in a multi-piece fashion increase thesize, weight, and part count of a final assembly while at the same timereducing performance through increased losses, path length, andreflections. This overall trend of increased size, weight, and partcount with increased complexity of the structure have kept hollow metalwaveguide arrays in the realm of applications where size, weight, andcost are less important than overall performance.

One challenge in antenna design is that different physical embodimentsof antenna components or subcomponents is necessary when even minorchanges in specifications are implemented. For example, if the intendedfrequency operation band changes, an antenna must be wholly redesignedphysically and electrically to operate in a different band. In otherwords, the physical size of the antenna dictates how it will operate.Accordingly, minor changes in specifications for any reason will affecta design of an antenna requiring, in most cases, a complete redesign ofthe antenna. Since any new antenna design requires 9 months to a year innon-trivial applications, it is frequently the case that minor changescan result in significant delays in producing a final product.

It is therefore one object of this disclosure to provide antennacustomization systems, methods, and devices that provide scalableantenna components for use in an antenna array to meet particularantenna specifications. It is a further object of this disclosure toprovide scalable antenna components for use in an antenna assembly usingadditive manufacturing techniques. It is a further object of thisdisclosure to provide scalable antenna components as a unitary articleof manufacture. It is a further object of this disclosure that providesaccess to digital representations of the scalable antenna components andsub-components which can be manipulated based on provided specificationsand fabricated using additive manufacturing techniques.

SUMMARY

Discussed herein is method, system, and device for mass customization ofan antenna assembly. In one embodiment, a method includes digitalinformation representative of one or more characteristics of an antennaelement of antenna assembly being received by a processor. The processormay further receive a specification for the antenna element. Theprocessor may adjust digital information representative of the antennaelement to adjust the physical parameters of the component to meet thespecification. The antenna assembly may be fabricated with the adjustedphysical parameters.

In another embodiment, a system may include a database which storesdigital information representative of one or more characteristics of anantenna element of an antenna assembly. The system may further include aprocessor that receives the digital information representative of theone or more characteristics of the antenna element of the antennaassembly, receives a specification for the antenna element of theantenna assembly, and adjusts the digital information representative ofthe antenna element to adjust physical parameters of the antennaelement. The system may further include an additive manufacturing devicewhich fabricates the antenna element with the adjusted physicalparameters.

In another embodiment, a device is provided. The device includes amemory device including digital information representative of one ormore characteristics of an antenna element of an antenna assembly. Thedevice further includes a processor which receives a specification forthe antenna element, adjusts the digital information representative ofthe antenna element to adjust physical parameters of the antenna elementand transmits the adjusted digital information for fabrication of theantenna element.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Non-limiting and non-exhaustive implementations of the presentdisclosure are described with reference to the following figures,wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout thevarious views unless otherwise specified. Advantages of the presentdisclosure will become better understood with regard to the followingdescription and accompanying drawings where:

FIG. 1A illustrates a perspective view of a radiating element;

FIG. 1B illustrates a perspective view of another embodiment of theradiating element shown in FIG. 1A;

FIG. 2 illustrates an array of radiating elements;

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of an air volume corresponding toa 4 to 1 combiner;

FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of another embodiment of an airvolume corresponding to a 4 to 1 combiner;

FIG. 5 illustrates a perspective view of an air volume corresponding toa 16 to 1 combiner;

FIG. 6 illustrates a perspective view of an air volume corresponding toan embodiment of a radiating element;

FIG. 7 illustrates a perspective view of an air volume corresponding toa 4 to 1 combiner with impedance matching elements;

FIG. 8 illustrates a perspective view of a connector interface;

FIG. 9 illustrates a scaling system; and

FIG. 10 illustrates a method for scaling one or more antenna elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, for purposes of explanation and notlimitation, specific techniques and embodiments are set forth, such asparticular techniques and configurations, in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the device disclosed herein. While the techniques andembodiments will primarily be described in context with the accompanyingdrawings, those skilled in the art will further appreciate that thetechniques and embodiments may also be practiced in other similardevices.

Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary embodiments,examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Whereverpossible, the same reference numbers are used throughout the drawings torefer to the same or like parts. It is further noted that elementsdisclosed with respect to particular embodiments are not restricted toonly those embodiments in which they are described. For example, anelement described in reference to one embodiment or figure, may bealternatively included in another embodiment or figure regardless ofwhether or not those elements are shown or described in anotherembodiment or figure. In other words, elements in the figures may beinterchangeable between various embodiments disclosed herein, whethershown or not.

Before the structure, systems, and methods for integrated marketing aredisclosed and described, it is to be understood that this disclosure isnot limited to the particular structures, configurations, process steps,and materials disclosed herein as such structures, configurations,process steps, and materials may vary somewhat. It is also to beunderstood that the terminology employed herein is used for the purposeof describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to belimiting since the scope of the disclosure will be limited only by theappended claims and equivalents thereof.

In describing and claiming the subject matter of the disclosure, thefollowing terminology will be used in accordance with the definitionsset out below.

It must be noted that, as used in this specification and the appendedclaims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referentsunless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

As used herein, the terms “comprising,” “including,” “containing,”“characterized by,” and grammatical equivalents thereof are inclusive oropen-ended terms that do not exclude additional, unrecited elements ormethod steps.

As used herein, the phrase “consisting of” and grammatical equivalentsthereof exclude any element or step not specified in the claim.

As used herein, the phrase “consisting essentially of” and grammaticalequivalents thereof limit the scope of a claim to the specifiedmaterials or steps and those that do not materially affect the basic andnovel characteristic or characteristics of the claimed disclosure.

It is also noted that many of the figures discussed herein show airvolumes of various implementations of integrated portions of an antennaassembly. In other words, these air volumes illustrate negative spacesof the components within an antenna assembly which are created by ametal skin within the antenna assembly, as appropriate to implement thefunctionality described. It is to be understood that positive structuresthat create the negative space shown by the various air volumes aredisclosed by the air volumes, the positive structures including a metalskin and being formed using the additive manufacturing techniquesdisclosed herein.

Referring now to the figures, FIG. 1A illustrates a perspective view ofa radiating element 100. Radiating element 100 includes a body 105 whichmay be enveloped on all sides to create a void 110 within body 105 by ametal or metal composite. In one embodiment, body 105 may be a threedimensionally printed element that utilizes metallic substrate or thatutilizes another substrate that bonds with metals as defined by theperiodic table of elements (or other electrically conductivecompositions), especially those metals which are known to have a highconductivity coefficient (e.g., copper, aluminum, gold etc.). In oneembodiment, body 105, and other elements that will be described below,may be fabricated using a metal or metal alloy in an additivemanufacturing process to produce a metal three dimensionally printedstructure such that a minimum amount of metal is used to allow for theelectrical, thermal, and mechanical requirements of the array whichinclude receiving transmitted electromagnetic signals in the RF,microwave, and other signal bands.

Radiating element 100 may be built to a set of specifications. Forexample, radiating element 100 may be constructed in a manner to operateat a particular frequency range with a particular bandwidth, aparticular gain and beam width, a particular polarization, a particularsidelobe level, a particular mask, having particular return losses, withor without a connector interface, at a particular operating temperature,a particular maximum power handling, a particular shock resiliency, aparticular vibration resiliency, with or without particular mechanicalinterfaces, and with a particular maximum dimension. Any antenna designmay require one or more of these specifications to identify theelectrical or physical characteristics of radiating element 100, or anyother element or sub-element of an antenna assembly. Mathematicalrelationships exist that relate the required specifications to physicalparameters of radiating element 100, or any other element or sub-elementof an antenna assembly. For example, void 110 may be smaller toaccommodate a higher frequency range of operation than a larger void 110in radiating element 100. At a higher power level, radiating element 100may require additional metal material to account for increased heatgenerated during operation. Fundamentally, a relative physical size ofan element or sub-element of an array, such as radiating element 100,may be dictated by provided specifications.

FIG. 1B illustrates a perspective view of another embodiment ofradiating element 100, also shown in FIG. 1A. However, as shown in FIG.1B, radiating element 110 has been scaled to have smaller physicaldimensions, to meet a different specification requirement. For example,radiating element 100 shown in FIG. 1B may have a specification thatdictates operation at a higher frequency band. A frequency range andbandwidth may be defined operate over a range of frequencies (e.g., 50GHz to 100 GHz) and, as previously discussed, determines the size of allcomponents, or sub-components of an RF array. These components andsub-components may be referred to as “RF units,” or “antenna elements”in some cases. All RF units in an antenna assembly must be resized basedon the specific frequency range. For example, a wavelength may bedetermined by a mathematical relationship which states that a wavelengthis equal to the speed of light divided by frequency. Given a particularfrequency specification, a wavelength may be simply calculated.Radiating element 100 shown in FIG. 1A may be referred to as a libraryRF unit having particular specifications, including a center frequencyof an operable frequency band, associated with it. Next, radiatingelement 100 shown in FIG. 1B may also have a specification that sets acenter frequency of the required operable frequency band. Radiatingelement 100 shown in FIG. 1B may be scaled by a scaling factor by simplydividing the wavelength of radiating element 100 shown in FIG. 1B by thewavelength of radiating element 100 shown in FIG. 1A. The scaling factormay be used to dictate a proportionate scaling in physical size ofradiating element 100 shown in FIG. 1B relative to radiating element 100shown in FIG. 1A.

It should be noted that scaling relative to this disclosure may berelated to a plurality of RF units, components and sub-components of anantenna assembly and not solely to radiating element 100. As will befurther discussed below, digital representations of a plurality of RFunits may be stored in a database, or other memory device and whichinclude a set of characteristics representative of base specificationsfor the RF units, and may be automatically adjusted and fabricated basedon specifications provided by a user.

FIG. 2 illustrates an array 200 of a plurality of radiating elements205. Radiating elements 205 may be similar in implementation anddescription to radiating elements 100, shown and discussed above withrespect to FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B. As shown, array 200 includes 64individual radiating elements 205. For exemplary purposes, array 200 isshown to explain the scalability of one or more RF units/antennaelements, for to meet gain or beamwidth specifications. Fundamentalphysics laws mathematically link gain to beamwidth. Generally, gain maybe described as amplification or power emission level in a directivefashion while beamwidth may be described as the rolloff or shape of theamplification or power emission from the peak level. For purposes here,gain is defined as a peak gain of an antenna pattern. Gain scaling (andcorresponding beamwidth scaling) may be determined according to thefollowing equation:

G _(tot) =G _(unit)+10*log₁₀(#unit)−Loss where:

G_(tot) is the total gain required by the specification; G_(unit) is thegain of each unit radiating element; #unit is the total number of unitsrequired to achieve G_(tot), and Loss is the total of the insertion lossthat is lost to ohmic and absorptive losses in the material.

Accordingly, once a gain specification is identified, a number ofradiating elements, in this example, may be identified to achieve thegain specification for a particular frequency band, as discussed above.In other words, array 200 has been scaled to a particularly specifiedfrequency band of operation at particularly specified gain level.Moreover, any RF unit or antenna element may be scaled accordingly toelectrically match scaling that is applied to any of the other RF unitor antenna elements in an antenna assembly.

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of an air volume corresponding toa 4 to 1 combiner 300. Combiner 300 may be another example of an RFunit/antenna element and a library unit, as will be discussed below. Aspreviously discussed with respect to FIG. 2, array 200, shown in FIG. 2,provides 64 radiating elements 205 to scale for gain and beamwidthpurposes after scaling for operable frequency band scaling, discussed inFIG. 1. However, increasing the number of radiating elements from 1 to64, in this example, means that 64 total outputs are created perpolarization and need to be joined to produce a signal to a particularspecification. Accordingly, combiner 300 may be provided in a mannerthat links the outputs of four of radiating elements and combines theminto a single output. It may be recognized that a plurality of combiners300 may be necessary to combine 64 outputs into a single output. Aplurality of combiners may therefore be provided and electricallymatched to accommodate the operable frequency band and gainspecification requirements, as will be further discussed below.

With respect to combiner 300 may also be referred to as a “quadcombiner,” or a “corporate feed.” Combiner 300 includes four “reducedheight” waveguide ports 305 a, 305 b, 305 c, and 305 d. In theembodiment of combiner 300, waveguide ports 305 a and 305 b are combinedin an H-plane “shortwall” combiner stage 310 a. Likewise, ports 305 cand 305 d are combined in an H-plane “shortwall” combiner stage 310 b.H-plane “shortwall” combiner stages 310 a and 310 b combine anelectromagnetic wave from rectangular waveguides 305 a-305 d into twooutput rectangular waveguides that flow into U-bends 315 a and 315 b,respectively. U-bends 315 a and 315 b are similar to other U-bendsdisclosed herein and provide a symmetric power split from combinerstages 310 a and 310 b. In this manner, an electromagnetic wave receivedat waveguide ports 305 a-305 d is propagated through U-bends 315 a and315 b, as shown and into an E-plane “broadwall” combiner stage 320 a or320 b. The E-plane is a plane that is orthogonal to the H-plane, and isa common term of art to refer to the long axis of the waveguide. E-plane“broadwall” combiner stage 320 a receives an electromagnetic wavereceived at waveguide ports 305 a and 305 b while E-plane “broadwall”combiner stage 320 b receives an electromagnetic wave received atwaveguide ports 305 c and 305 d. E-plane “broadwall” combiner stage 320a and 320 b flow together into a port 325 where an electromagnetic wavemay be received into or output from combiner 300, depending on whetheror not a signal is being received or transmitted from an antenna arrayassociated with combiner 300.

Thus, combiner 300 may be implemented in a single layer. Four reducedheight waveguide ports 305 a-305 d, are combined with two H-plane“shortwall” combiner stages 310 a and 310 b which transition throughU-bends 315 a and 315 b into E-Plane “broadwall” combiner stages 320 aand 320 b to provide a combined signal at port 325. Alternatively, ifthe “flow” is reversed, an electromagnetic signal provided to port 325may be split into four equal amplitude signals at waveguide ports 305a-305 d. Power split and power combining can occur simultaneously. Inone embodiment, a chamfer, such as chamfer 330 a may be provided betweenU-bend 315 b and E-plane “broadwall” combiner stage 320 b to provide animpedance transition to allow the electromagnetic wave to match as itpropagates around corners, bends, and combiner stages. Other chamfers,such as chamfers 340 a and 340 b may be installed in the combiner stages310 a, and 310 b, for similar reasons. Chamfer 330 a will be discussedin greater detail below, with respect to FIG. 7.

FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of another embodiment of an airvolume corresponding to a 4 to 1 combiner 400. As discussed with respectto FIG. 3, a plurality of 4 to 1 combiners, 300 may be implemented toaccommodate 64 outputs from array 200, shown in FIG. 2 that has beenscaled to a particular gain and beamwidth and a particular frequencyband and bandwidth. Combiner 400 may be a secondary stage combiner whichcombines the outputs of four combiners 300 into a single output. Forexample, four combiners 300 may be combined by combiner 400 to produce asingle output, resulting in a 16:1 combiner, as will be discussed below.However, any number of combiners of different types may be implementedas RF units or antenna elements or library units to accomplish aparticular antenna design.

With particular respect to combiner 400, combiner 400 may also bereferred to as a “quad combiner,” a “connector” or a “corporate feed.”Combiner 400 includes four “reduced height” waveguide ports 405 a, 405b, 405 c, and 405 d. Waveguide ports 405 a and 405 b may be divided by aseptum 410 a which assists in combining/splitting for H-plane combinerstage 415 a. Similarly, waveguide ports 405 c and 405 d may be dividedby a septum 410 b which assists in combining/splitting for H-planecombiner stage 415 b. Combiner 400 further includes an E-plane combiningstage 420 a, associated with waveguide ports 405 a and 405 b whichcombines the electromagnetic waves received by waveguide ports 405 a and405 b into a single waveguide 425. Similarly, combiner 400 includes asecond E-plane combining stage 420 b, associated with waveguide ports405 c and 405 d which combines the electromagnetic waves received bywaveguide ports 405 c and 405 d into a single waveguide 425. Waveguide425 may be accessed via a connector port 430 which may be a coaxialconnector, a SMA connector, a TNC connector, or any other connectordisclosed herein or known to ordinarily skilled artisans.

It should be noted that, an electromagnetic wave may be provided to orreceived through combiner 400, in a manner similar to that describedabove, based on the intended “flow” of the electromagnetic wave fortransmission or reception. Further, while not explicitly shown, combiner400 may or may not be implemented with chamfers as described herein andparticularly with respect to FIG. 7.

FIG. 5 illustrates a perspective view of an air volume corresponding toa 16 to 1 combiner 500. As discussed with respect to FIG. 4 and FIG. 3,a plurality of 4 to 1 combiners, 400 and 300 may be implemented toaccommodate 64 outputs from array 200, shown in FIG. 2 that has beenscaled to a particular gain and beamwidth and a particular frequencyband and bandwidth. Combiner 400 may be a secondary stage combiner whichcombines the outputs of four combiners 300 into a single output. Forexample, four combiners 300 may be combined by combiner 400 to produce asingle output, resulting in a 16:1 combiner 500, as shown in FIG. 5.However, any number of combiners of different types may be implementedas RF units or antenna elements or library units to accomplish aparticular antenna design. For example, four 16:1 combiners 500 may beprovided to accommodate a 64 radiating element array 200, shown in FIG.2, producing four outputs 515 (which are implemented as connectors) thatmay be used as is or may be again combined, using the techniquesdescribed herein into a single output 515. Combiner 500 may be anexample, of another library unit that may be implemented as needed for aparticular specification.

With particular respect to combiner 500, combiner 500 comprises four of4 to 1 combiners 300, shown and described with respect to FIG. 3,assembled together, a 4 to 1 combiner 400, as shown in FIG. 4, and four4 to 1 combiners 520 a-520 d, shown in FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 5combiner 500 is comprised of combiner 300 a, 300 b, 300 c, and 300 dwhich are similar in implementation and description to combiner 300shown in FIG. 3, combiner 400 which is similar in implementation anddescription to combiner 400, shown in FIG. 4, and four 4 to 1 combiners520 a-520 d which are illustrated in FIG. 5. Combiners 520 a-520 d maybe another exemplary library unit, implemented as required by aparticular specification. However, as shown in FIG. 5A, each one ofcombiners 520 a-520 d include waveguide ports in combiner 500 a tosupport LHCP polarization in an antenna assembly. Similarly, each one ofcombiners 520 a, 520 b, 520 c, and 520 d, are interleaved with combiners300 a-300 d and support RHCP polarization in an antenna assembly. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 5, combiners 300 a-300 d of combiner 500 mayinclude waveguide ports 505 a, 505 b, 505 e, and 505 f which can beconnected to LHCP polarization ports of a horn radiating element in anantenna assembly while combiners 520 a-520 d of combiner 500 may includewaveguide ports 505 c, 505 d, 505 g, and 505 h can be connected to RHCPpolarization ports of a horn radiating element in an antenna assembly.

In this manner a plurality of library unit combiners may be combined tomeet a particular specification in an electrically matched assembly. Ingeneral, combiners, of any of the type disclosed herein 300, 400, 500,520 a-520 d) may be implemented as library units. Typically, theselibrary units may be arranged in multiples of 2 (e.g., a 4:1 combiner,an 8:1 combiner, a 16:1 combiner, etc.), although 3:1 combiners are alsopossible and may be implemented as library units, as will be discussedin more detail below.

FIG. 6 illustrates a perspective view of an air volume corresponding tothe radiating element 600, which is similar in implementation anddescription to radiating element 100 shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. Radiatingelement 600 may further be implemented to meet a polarizationspecification. For example, polarizations may be expressed as linearpolarizations (horizontal and vertical) or circular (right-hand circularand left hand circular) and may be defined as the orientation of aradiated electric field. An individual radiating unit 600 is implementedwith a particular polarization to meet a specification by a polarizer,such as a septum polarizer 620 shown in this example, or with anorthomode transducer (“OMT”) which may be used in linear polarizationspecifications or a corrugated polarizer. Both an OMT and a corrugatedpolarizer may be implemented with a radiating element as library units.

With respect to radiating element 600, radiating element 600 includes abody 605, a void 610, a horn 615, a septum polarizer 620, and impedancesteps 625. FIG. 6 further illustrates a first waveguide port 630 and asecond waveguide port 635 which support an LHCP and RHCP polarization,respectively. Septum polarizer converts the TE10 waveguide into equalamplitude and 90° phase shifted TE10 and TE01 waveguide modes at horn615. It should be noted that “equal amplitude” and 90° phase is theideal but rarely experienced in real world applications. Thus, the term“equal amplitude” or “equal” as used herein means substantially equal orthat an amplitude of the TE10 waveguide mode is within 3 dB of anamplitude of the TE01 waveguide mode. Further, 90° means substantially90° or within a range of plus or minus 15°. Impedance steps 625 matchthe impedance transition from waveguide ports, such as first waveguideport 630 and second waveguide port 635. Horn 615 may be matched tospace, air, a vacuum, or another dielectric for the purpose of radiatingan RHCP or LHCP electromagnetic wave.

First waveguide port 630 may be implemented as a “reduced heightwaveguide,” meaning that the short axis of waveguide port 630 is lessthan one half of the length of the long axis of waveguide port 630. Thepurpose of a reduced height waveguide is to allow for a single combininglayer by spacing waveguides closely enough to have multiple waveguideruns side-by-side (as will be discussed below). A length of the longaxis of waveguide port 630 determines its frequency performance of thefundamental mode (TE10, for example), while a height of waveguide port630 may be adjusted lower or higher to either make waveguide port 630more compact and experience a higher loss or less compact and experiencea lower loss. Typical values for waveguide height when propagating thefundamental (lowest order) mode is that the short axis is less than orequal to half the length of the long axis of waveguide port 630. Asignal entering first waveguide port 630 may be converted into anelectromagnetic wave that rotates with left-handedness at horn 615.Second waveguide port 635 may be oppositely, but similarly, implementedto produce an electromagnetic wave that rotates with right-handedness athorn 615.

More simply, a signal entering first waveguide port 630 is converted byvarious steps (620 a, 620 b) into a circularly polarized wave at horn615. This is accomplished by impedance matching steps 625 and the septumpolarizer steps 620 a, 620 b, that convert a unidirectional electricfield at first waveguide port 630 into a rotating LHCP wave at horn 615.Although septum polarizer steps 620 a and 620 b are identified, a septumpolarizer 620 may be implemented with any number of steps to meetspecific application requirements. Horn 615 may be opened to free space,vacuum, air, water, or any dielectric for the purpose of radiating theelectromagnetic wave. Similarly, a signal entering at second waveguideport 635 may be converted into a rotating RHCP wave at horn 615.

FIG. 7 illustrates a perspective view of an air volume corresponding toa 4 to 1 combiner 700 with impedance matching elements, collectivelyreferred to as elements 745-765. Combiner 700 may be another example ofan RF unit/antenna element and a library unit, as will be discussedbelow. Combiner 700 may also be similar in implementation anddescription to combiner 300, shown in FIG. 3 and described above.However, combiner 700 has been “tuned” or electrically matched to meet aparticular specification, as will be discussed below.

With respect to combiner 700 may also be referred to as a “quadcombiner,” or a “corporate feed.” Combiner 700 includes four “reducedheight” waveguide ports 705 a, 705 b, 705 c, and 705 d. In theembodiment of combiner 700, waveguide ports 705 a and 705 b are combinedin an H-plane “shortwall” combiner stage 710 a. Likewise, ports 705 cand 705 d are combined in an H-plane “shortwall” combiner stage 710 b.H-plane “shortwall” combiner stages 710 a and 710 b combine anelectromagnetic wave from rectangular waveguides 705 a-705 d into twooutput rectangular waveguides that flow into U-bends 715 a and 715 b,respectively. U-bends 715 a and 715 b are similar to other U-bendsdisclosed herein and provide a symmetric power split from combinerstages 710 a and 710 b. In this manner, an electromagnetic wave receivedat waveguide ports 705 a-705 d is propagated through U-bends 715 a and715 b, as shown and into an E-plane “broadwall” combiner stage 720 a or720 b. The E-plane is a plane that is orthogonal to the H-plane, and isa common term of art to refer to the long axis of the waveguide. E-plane“broadwall” combiner stage 720 a receives an electromagnetic wavereceived at waveguide ports 705 a and 705 b while E-plane “broadwall”combiner stage 720 b receives an electromagnetic wave received atwaveguide ports 705 c and 705 d. E-plane “broadwall” combiner stage 720a and 720 b flow together into a port 725 where an electromagnetic wavemay be received into or output from combiner 700, depending on whetheror not a signal is being received or transmitted from an antenna arrayassociated with combiner 700.

Thus, combiner 700 may be implemented in a single layer. Four reducedheight waveguide ports 705 a-705 d, are combined with two H-plane“shortwall” combiner stages 710 a and 710 b which transition throughU-bends 715 a and 715 b into E-Plane “broadwall” combiner stages 720 aand 720 b to provide a combined signal at port 725. Alternatively, ifthe “flow” is reversed, an electromagnetic signal provided to port 725may be split into four equal amplitude signals at waveguide ports 705a-705 d. In one embodiment, a chamfer, such as chamfer 730 a may beprovided between U-bend 715 b and E-plane “broadwall” combiner stage 720b to provide an impedance transition to allow the electromagnetic waveto match as it propagates around corners, bends, and combiner stages.Other chamfers, such as chamfers 740 a and 740 b may be installed in thecombiner stages 710 a, and 710 b, for similar reasons. Chamfer 730 a maybe one example of an impedance matching element 745.

The propagation of electromagnetic waves through space, such as throughthe air volume of combiner 700, is subject to losses as it travels. Thatis to say, portions of the electromagnetic waves may be cut off,delayed, reflected, absorbed, or otherwise adversely affected by theenvironment surrounding the electromagnetic wave. Losses may be definedas energy that is either absorbed in the material due to ohmic loss oras reflected energy back to the input due to impedance discontinuitieswithin an antenna assembly. Impedance matching elements may beimplemented in library units in order to minimize impedance mismatchlosses, to the extent possible. For example, impedance matching element745 is implemented as a chamfer 730 a which allows a signal to propagatefrom waveguide port 705 through U-bend 715 b and so on withoutexperiencing impedance mismatch losses in the electromagnetic wave. Forexample, impedance matching element 745 may be implemented so as toreflect the entirety of the electromagnetic signal received viawaveguide port 705 and reflecting, or bouncing, further through combiner700. Impedance matching element 745 is physically sized to accommodatean electromagnetic wave of a certain frequency and bandwidth withoutcausing impedance mismatch losses to the electromagnetic wave. Thiscondition is typically referred to as “electrically matching” or“electrically matched” but may also be referred to as an “impedancematch.” As various specifications are changed, every RF unit/antennaelement must be adjusted or tuned to ensure that an impedance of apropagation channel of the RF unit/antenna element is consistentthroughout the propagation channel to create an electrically matchedantenna assembly.

As shown in FIG. 7, combiner 700 further includes impedance steps 750and a septum 755 as part of impedance element 760 a. Both impedancesteps 750 and septum 755 are implemented in this position to ensure thatwaveguide ports 705 c and 705 d are electrically matched with the restof combiner 700. Impedance element 760 b may similarly ensure thatwaveguide ports 720 a and 720 b are electrically matched with the restof combiner 700. Similarly, impedance element 760 b may includeimpedance steps 750 and septum 755 to maintain an electrical match at ajoint between E-Plane “broadwall” combiner stages 720 a and 720 b.Lastly, impedance element 765 may be provided as impedance steps toensure an electrical match as the electromagnetic wave transits to port725. Impedance elements 745-765 may be scaled or tuned according toprovided specifications. Further, as will be discussed below, impedanceor electrical mismatches may be identified by, for example, a computerprocessor, and may be automatically tuned to create an electrical orimpedance match at any point in an RF unit or antenna element, includingwithin subcomponents, as scaling is applied to an antenna assembly.

FIG. 8 illustrates a perspective view of a connector interface 800.Connector interface 800 may include a body 805 which may be made ofmetals and metal composites through additive manufacturing processes,using the techniques and other materials discussed above. Connectorinterface 800 allows a user to connect a receiver or a transmitter to anantenna assembly. As shown, connector interface 800 is shown as a singleunit which may be attached through mounting holes 810 a and 810 b to anantenna assembly by screws, or other fasteners. However, connectorinterface 800 may be implemented as an integral unit with the antennaassembly as a unitary body without need for fasteners. Body 805 mayprovide an electromagnetic wave waveguide 815 which extends to a coaxialconnector 825 and allows an electromagnetic wave or signal to betransmitted or received via an antenna assembly.

As an antenna assembly is scaled, using the techniques described above,connector interface 800 may also require scaling such that mountingholes 810 a/810 b may be standard or customized. Similarly, waveguide815 (also referred to as a propagation channel) may be customizedaccording to particular specifications. In this embodiment, a pluralityof connectors 825 may be used, such as coaxial connectors, SMAconnectors, 2.92 mm connectors, 2.4 mm connectors, SMP or GPOconnectors, TNC connectors, and other connectors known in the art. Aconnector interface 820 may allow any connector 825 to be fitted toconnector interface 800 to meet a particular specification.

FIG. 9 illustrates a scaling system 900. Scaling system may include acomputing device 905 which includes a processor. Scaling system 900 mayfurther provide a display device 910, which may be implemented as acomputer display, a television display, or any other display known inthe art. Scaling system 900 may further include a library 915 which, inpreferred embodiments, may be implemented as a database. Examples ofcomputing device 905 include desktop computers, laptop computers,tablets, game consoles, personal computers, notebook computers, and anyother electrical computing device with access to processing powersufficient to interact with library 915. Computing device 905 mayinclude software and hardware modules, sequences of instructions,routines, data structures, display interfaces, and other types ofstructures that execute computer operations. Further, hardwarecomponents may include a combination of Central Processing Units(“CPUs”), buses, volatile and non-volatile memory devices, storageunits, non-transitory computer-readable media, data processors,processing devices, control devices transmitters, receivers, antennas,transceivers, input devices, output devices, network interface devices,and other types of components that are apparent to those skilled in theart. These hardware components within computing device 905 may be usedto execute the various spreadsheet applications, methods, or algorithmsdisclosed herein independent of other devices disclosed herein.

Library 915 may be implemented in computing device 905 or in cloudcomputers, super computers, mainframe computers, application servers,catalog servers, communications servers, computing servers, databaseservers, file servers, game servers, home servers, proxy servers,stand-alone servers, web servers, combinations of one or more of theforegoing examples, and any other computing device that may be used toprovide access to digital information representative of RF units/antennaelement library units stored therein. Library 115 may include softwareand hardware modules, sequences of instructions, routines, datastructures, display interfaces, and other types of structures thatexecute server computer operations. Further, hardware components mayinclude a combination of Central Processing Units (“CPUs”), buses,volatile and non-volatile memory devices, storage units, non-transitorycomputer-readable media, data processors, processing devices, controldevices transmitters, receivers, antennas, transceivers, input devices,output devices, network interface devices, and other types of componentsthat are apparent to those skilled in the art. These hardware componentswithin library 115 may be used to execute the various methods oralgorithms disclosed herein and interface with computing device 905.

Computing device 905 may connect to library 915 using any appropriateconnection, wired or wireless. For example, these various internetconnections may be implemented using WiFi, ZigBee, Z-Wave, RF4CE,Ethernet, telephone line, cellular channels, or others that operate inaccordance with protocols defined in IEEE (Institute of Electrical andElectronics Engineers) 802.11, 801.11a, 801.11b, 801.11e, 802.11g,802.11h, 802.11i, 802.11n, 802.16, 802.16d, 802.16e, or 802.16m usingany network type including a wide-area network (“WAN”), a local-areanetwork (“LAN”), a 2G network, a 3G network, a 4G network, a WorldwideInteroperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) network, a Long TermEvolution (LTE) network, Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network,Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) network, any type of satellite or cellularnetwork, or any other appropriate protocol.

Library 915 may store digital representations of library units, which aspreviously discussed, include all of the individual RF units/antennaelements necessary to create an antenna assembly. Library 915 may storethese digital representations of RF units/antenna elements as sub units,combinations of subunits, or entire antenna assemblies (e.g., may storedigital representations of combiner 300, shown in FIG. 3 and discussedabove, combiner 500, shown in FIG. 5 and discussed above, or as anentire antenna assembly). Library 915 may include standardspecifications for each library unit stored within the library in termsof frequency ranges, bandwidths, gain, beamwidth, polarization, sidelobelevel, mask, return loss, use or application of connector interface,operating temperature, maximum power handling, shock resiliency,vibration resiliency, available mechanical interfaces, and maximumdimensions. Library 915 may further identify electrical characteristicsof each library unit, such as waveguide impedances provided by eachlibrary unit. Further, library 915 may include physical parameterinformation about each library unit, which includes information aboutphysical dimensions, in quantified units, for each library unit.Physical parameters for library units may include heights, widths,lengths, thicknesses, angles, lattice structures, and any other physicalparameter that has an effect on a specification of a library unit. Anon-exhaustive and exemplary list of library units, which are also RFunits/antenna elements, may include a radiating element, a radiatingelement array, a combiner, a polarizer, an orthomode transducer, aconnector interface, a filter, a diplexer, a switch, a magic tee, acirculator, a twist, a bend, a mode converter, a transmission line, acoupler, and a rotary joints. Any component, element, unit,sub-component, sub-element, or sub-unit in an RF chain of an antennaassembly may be provided as a library unit.

As shown in FIG. 9, a digital representation of library unit (e.g., aradiating element, such as radiating element 100, shown in FIG. 1A) isdisplayed on display device 910. A digital representation of a librarymay include one or more base specifications for the unit which may becharacteristics for a model library unit (e.g., a library unit with aset of characteristics as base specifications for the unit, such asfrequency range, bandwidth, gain, beamwidth, etc., which will bechanged, as discussed below). A user may interact with computing device905 to change the one or more base specifications to meet a newspecification to, for example, redesign an antenna assembly to operatein a higher frequency range, or for any other reason. The user mayprovide input representative of new specifications for the library unit,including an assembly that includes a plurality of RF units/antennaelements (e.g., scaling in size or scaling in number of units). At thesame time, computing device 905 may adjust physical parameters of thelibrary unit in a manner that causes the physical parameters of thelibrary unit to provide operation capability with the newspecifications. Adjusting the physical parameters of the library unitmay further include tuning the library unit with impedance elements toensure impedance matching. Tuning may be performed manually or may beperformed automatically by an antenna design engineer. Further, andoptionally, the user may direct an additive manufacturing device (e.g.,a three dimensional metallic printer) to fabricate the library unit withadjusted physical parameters that meet the provided specification thatis different from the base specification. These techniques may reducelead time in antenna design from years to as little as few hours.

FIG. 10 illustrates a method 1000 for scaling one or more antennaelements. Method 1000 may be executed by scaling system 900, shown inFIG. 9 and discussed above. Method 1000 may begin by downloading, atstep 1005, by a processor in computing device 905, for example, alibrary component from a library 915, which may be a memory device ordatabase. Alternatively, the processor may retrieve a library componentfrom memory associated with computing 905 at step 1005. At step 1010, auser may provide one or more specifications for the library component,such as a gain specification, for example. Based on the provided one ormore specifications, characteristics of the library unit may be changedand computing device 905 may adjust one or more physical parameters ofthe library component to implement the specification at step 1015.Optionally, computing device 905 may transmit the digital representationof the adjusted physical parameters of the library component to anadditive manufacturing machine. Once received, the library component maybe fabricated at step 1020 using additive manufacturing techniques anddevices, including a three dimensional metallic printer.

The foregoing description has been presented for purposes ofillustration. It is not exhaustive and does not limit the invention tothe precise forms or embodiments disclosed. Modifications andadaptations will be apparent to those skilled in the art fromconsideration of the specification and practice of the disclosedembodiments. For example, components described herein may be removed andother components added without departing from the scope or spirit of theembodiments disclosed herein or the appended claims.

Other embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art fromconsideration of the specification and practice of the disclosuredisclosed herein. It is intended that the specification and examples beconsidered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of theinvention being indicated by the following claims.

1-21. (canceled)
 22. A method, comprising: receiving, by a processor,digital information representative of one or more characteristics of anantenna assembly comprising a plurality of antenna elements; receiving,by the processor, a specification for the antenna assembly; adjusting,by the processor, the digital information representative of the antennaassembly to adjust physical parameters of the antenna assembly based onthe specification for the antenna assembly; and fabricating the antennaassembly with the adjusted physical parameters.
 23. The method of claim22, wherein fabricating the antenna assembly includes one or more of: anadditive manufacturing process; a three dimensional printing process; ora three dimensional printing process that prints the antenna assemblyusing a metal or a metal alloy.
 24. The method of claim 22, wherein thecharacteristics of the antenna assembly include one or more of afrequency, a frequency range, a bandwidth, a gain of the antennaassembly, a gain of each antenna element within the antenna assembly, abeamwidth, a polarization, and a number of antenna elements in theantenna assembly.
 25. The method of claim 22, wherein the physicalparameters of the antenna assembly is one or more of: a length, a width,height, a thickness, or an angle of the antenna assembly; a length, awidth, height, a thickness, or an angle of one or more antenna elementswithin the antenna assembly; a number of antenna elements within theantenna assembly; or placement of the one or more antenna elementswithin the antenna assembly.
 26. The method of claim 22, furthercomprising: receiving, by the processor, digital informationrepresentative of one or more characteristics of one or more antennaelements of the plurality of antenna elements within the antennaassembly; receiving, by the processor, a specification for the one ormore antenna elements within the antenna assembly; adjusting, by theprocessor, the digital information representative of the one or moreantenna elements to adjust physical parameters of the one or moreantenna elements based on the specification for the one or more antennaelements; and adjusting, by the processor, one or more physicalparameters of the antenna assembly to electrically match the adjustmentto the adjusted one or more antenna elements.
 27. The method of claim22, wherein the specification for the one or more antenna elementsincludes one or more of a frequency, a frequency range, a bandwidth, again, a beamwidth, and a polarization.
 28. The method of claim 22,wherein the physical parameter of the one or more antenna elements isone or more of a length, a width, a thickness, or an angle.
 29. Themethod of claim 22, further comprising: tuning, by the processor, one ormore of the plurality of antenna elements such that it is electricallymatched to the antenna assembly.
 30. The method of claim 22, wherein theantenna assembly further comprises one or more of a radiating element, aradiating element array, a combiner, a polarizer, an orthomodetransducer, a connector interface, a filter, a diplexer, a switch, amagic tee, a circulator, a twist, a bend, a mode converter, atransmission line, a coupler, or a rotary joints; and wherein the one ormore of the radiating element, radiating element array, combiner,polarizer, orthomode transducer, connector interface, filter, diplexer,switch, magic tee, circulator, twist, bend, mode converter, transmissionline, coupler, or rotary joints are adjusted, by the processor, based onthe specification for the antenna assembly.
 31. A system, comprising: adatabase storing digital information representative of one or morecharacteristics of an antenna assembly comprising a plurality of antennaelements; a processor that executes instructions stored on anon-transitory computer readable storage medium, the instructionscomprising: receiving the digital information representative of the oneor more characteristics of the antenna assembly, receiving aspecification for the antenna assembly, adjusting the digitalinformation representative of the antenna assembly to adjust physicalparameters of the antenna assembly based on the specification for theantenna assembly; and an additive manufacturing device configured tofabricate the antenna assembly with the adjusted physical parameters.32. The system of claim 31, wherein the characteristics of the antennaassembly include one or more of a frequency, a frequency range, abandwidth, a gain of the antenna assembly, a gain of each antennaelement within the antenna assembly, a beamwidth, a polarization, and anumber of antenna elements in the antenna assembly.
 33. The system ofclaim 31, wherein the physical parameters of the antenna assembly is oneor more of: a length, a width, height, a thickness, or an angle of theantenna assembly; a length, a width, height, a thickness, or an angle ofone or more antenna elements within the antenna assembly; a number ofantenna elements within the antenna assembly; or placement of the one ormore antenna elements within the antenna assembly.
 34. The system ofclaim 31, the instructions further comprising: receiving digitalinformation representative of one or more characteristics of one or moreantenna elements of the plurality of antenna elements within the antennaassembly; receiving, by the processor, a specification for the one ormore antenna elements within the antenna assembly; adjusting, by theprocessor, the digital information representative of the one or moreantenna elements to adjust physical parameters of the one or moreantenna elements based on the specification for the one or more antennaelements; and adjusting, by the processor, one or more physicalparameters of the antenna assembly to electrically match the adjustmentto the adjusted one or more antenna elements.
 35. The system of claim34, wherein the specification for the one or more antenna elementsincludes one or more of a frequency, a frequency range, a bandwidth, again, a beamwidth, and a polarization.
 36. The system of claim 34,wherein the physical parameter of the one or more antenna elements isone or more of a length, a width, a thickness, or an angle.
 37. Thesystem of claim 31, wherein the antenna assembly further comprises oneor more of a radiating element, a radiating element array, a combiner, apolarizer, an orthomode transducer, a connector interface, a filter, adiplexer, a switch, a magic tee, a circulator, a twist, a bend, a modeconverter, a transmission line, a coupler, or a rotary joints; whereinthe one or more of the radiating element, radiating element array,combiner, polarizer, orthomode transducer, connector interface, filter,diplexer, switch, magic tee, circulator, twist, bend, mode converter,transmission line, coupler, or rotary joints are adjusted, by theprocessor, based on the specification for the antenna assembly.
 38. Adevice, comprising, a memory device including digital informationrepresentative of one or more characteristics of an antenna assemblycomprising a plurality of antenna elements, and a processor thatexecutes instructions stored on a non-transitory computer readablestorage medium, the instructions comprising: receiving a specificationfor the antenna assembly, adjusting the digital informationrepresentative of the antenna assembly to adjust physical parameters ofthe antenna assembly based on the specification for the antennaassembly, and transmitting the adjusted digital information forfabrication of the antenna assembly.
 39. The device of claim 38, whereinthe characteristics of the antenna assembly include one or more of afrequency, a frequency range, a bandwidth, a gain of the antennaassembly, a gain of each antenna element within the antenna assembly, abeamwidth, a polarization, and a number of antenna elements in theantenna assembly.
 40. The device of claim 38, wherein the physicalparameters of the antenna assembly is one or more of: a length, a width,height, a thickness, or an angle of the antenna assembly; a length, awidth, height, a thickness, or an angle of one or more antenna elementswithin the antenna assembly; a number of antenna elements within theantenna assembly; or placement of the one or more antenna elementswithin the antenna assembly.